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Amaterasu
Skills Amaterasu's ink-coated tail is her Celestial Brush; a divine tool that can perform miracles through art. It is fueled by magic ink, which depletes when used but regenerates relatively quickly. If Amaterasu uses up all her ink, or it is taken from her by an outside source, she loses all her divine attributes until it returns: her appearance becomes less impressive, she loses the ability to double-jump, her Divine Instrument disappears, she cannot use Godhood, and her physical attributes weaken slightly. Amaterasu has mastery of all thirteen brush techniques. As the sun goddess, her signature technique is sunrise - the ability to raise the sun. The converse of this is Crescent, which raises the moon. Before coming to Pandora, this gave her the power to control the time of day, turning day into night and vice versa..but now, all she can do is adjust the brightness of the sun and moon, so long as they are already in the sky. She also possesses Catwalk, allowing her to scale vertical walls by impressing the mark of Kabegami on them, Cherry Bomb, which creates a bomb strong enough to blast through cracked rock, and Veil of Mist, which slows time around Amaterasu to a near-stop for roughly four seconds. Her Rejuvenation technique fixes broken objects and restores simple missing ones. Her Greensprout technique covers multiple plant-based powers. Amaterasu can create plants, as well as restore dead or wilted ones back to life. Since this technique embodies the power of life, Amaterasu can use it to dispell weak curses by blooming patches of wildflowers, thereby overpowering and destroying the dark energy. In terms of elemental brush techniques, Amaterasu has Waterspout, Inferno, Thunderstorm, Blizzard, and Galestorm. So long as there is a source of water, fire, electricity, or ice nearby, Amaterasu can control and redirect it at will. With water, she often uses it for transportation by creating geysers to stand on. She can summon wind, with complete control of the strength and direction. She can also summon rain, fireballs, thunderbolts, shards of ice, or miniature tornadoes. However, this is more taxing than her usual techniques, requiring thrice as much ink as a normal technique at it's weakest and draining almost all of her ink power at its strongest. The final brush technique is Power Slash, which allows Amaterasu to magically cut and slash from a distance. Through creative positioning, she can use it to cut as many targets at once as she needs, so long as they're in a relatively straight line. She can also use it to block attacks and deflect projectiles. She's displayed some less specialized uses for the brush as well: drawing stars into the sky and controlling their brightness, coating others with ink to temporarily blind them, and mundane writing and drawing. As a goddess, Amaterasu's strength is entirely dependent on the faith and praise she receives. In the past century, humanity's faith in her own world has taken a nosedive, weakening her and saddling her with a number of limitations. Her voice is audible only to gods, animals, ponicles, and supernatural creatures of great faith. She is essentially mortal - hunger, fatigue, illness, and injury can kill her as easily as they'd kill a normal wolf. She has a slight vulnerability to dark magic - sufficiently strong evil objects or barriers sometimes burn her on contact. Areas strongly controlled by darkness weaken her. At the least, they drain away her ink; at the most, they rapidly drain her health, leading to swift death if she does not retreat. When Amaterasu behaves especially valiantly, does very well in battle, or is blessed with a holy charm, she receives a shield of Godhood. When this happens, Amaterasu's Godhood completely negates the next attack that hits her, and then disappears. She can have up to three Godhood shields active at a time. On he other hand, if Amaterasu behaves foolishly or cowardly, or receives injury in a pointless or careless fashion, her Godhood will deplete to negative levels, halving her stamina and tolerance for pain, and leaving her as fragile as a puppy until she manages to earn her neutral level of Godhood back. Physically speaking, Amaterasu is in good shape, and as a wolf she's naturally capable of running faster than any mundane human. She can make impossibly wide and high leaps, as well as jump again once already in the air. In combat, she is skilled with reflectors, rosary beads, and swords. She came into Pandora equipped with the Divine Instrument Solar Flare, a reflector infused with the power of fire. It is invisible to those incapable of seeing Amaterasu's true appearance, and when she uses it in front of someone who cannot see it, she appears to be attacking with her teeth and claws like a normal wolf. Amaterasu's noble, heroic personality also serves as a strength. Her patience is nearly infinite; she had no complaints waiting a hundred years for the perfect opportunity to strike at her nemesis, and she has no trouble enduring whatever detours or snipes are necessary to reach her goal. She's incredibly courageous, willing to take powerful and dangerous enemies down head on even when she knows she's at a disadvantage. On the other hand, this can work against her, leading her to challenge situations or opponents she won't be able to overcome. She's very discerning, and much more intelligent than people give her credit for; she can tell how a situation will play out easily, and predict people's actions ahead of time. This, combined with her patience, means that although she may not get a job done fast, she'll still get it done right: she takes no shortcuts, and when she takes actions that seem foolish, uncharacteristic, or pointless, it's common to find out much, much later that she was actually working towards an elaborate future goal. Personality Amaterasu is a being of total benevolence and purity, whose top concern is making the world a better place. No situation is too big or too small for her to take interest; she's just as comfortable feeding animals and helping people dry their laundry as she is with slaying grand evils. She never hesitates to spring into action when anyone around her needs assistance, even if they don't ask for it. On the other hand, she's careful not to let others use her, or anything else, as a crutch - Amaterasu has faith in those around her, and fully believes that with a little pushing and encouragement, they'll be able to unlock their own inner strength and potential. Sometimes, it requires tough love or ridiculous levels of effort to do so, but in Amaterasu's eyes it's always worth it. Beneath her peaceful, gentle exterior lies a more ferocious side. Amaterasu has a black-and-white worldview, and harbors an "attack on sight" policy regarding demons, monsters, and creatures of darkness, regardless of if she's seen them commit evil yet. They exist; that's sin enough! She's merciless towards her enemies, and once she's marked someone as evil, it's almost impossible to reason or negotiate with her. On the converse, Amaterasu automatically places mortals in the "good" category, no matter what vices or darkness they may have within them. She may growl at a human who insults her or gently nip at one that's being stubborn, but overall she believes mortals are to be cherished and protected, and would never truly lift a paw against one. Overly rigid as Amaterasu may seem, she's ultimately the result of her environment - she's never encountered a truly evil human; at the most, they've been influenced by demons or misguided, with a good nature deep down. Needless to say, Pandora will challenge her worldview, forcing her to examine if it's moral to tolerate a peaceful monster or attack a dangerous human, and only time will tell how that will affect her. Amaterasu's demeanor isn't at all what one would expect of a goddess. She's picked up quite a few stereotypical canine habits, and would be perfectly content to spend an evening gnawing on a bone while a friend scratches her behind the ears. Despite being basically mute, Amaterasu is very expressive and blunt when it comes to her opinions. Despite knowing how tact works, she generally disregards it, finding the direct approach much more useful and satisfying. When someone's boring her or telling her information she already knows, she'll pretend to doze off. When someone's being annoying, she'll headbutt them. When someone's clothing is a bit too suggestive, she'll gape, eyes and mouth hanging open in transfixed awe. A lot of the time, she feels like the only sane woman (wolf?) in a world full of crazy, and it shows. Amaterasu is sensitive about her flaws, and somewhat easy to offend. Pointing out things such as the lack of intelligence in her eyes or her utter failure at swimming cut her deep. If there's something more important at the moment to focus on, Amaterasu will merely huff and sulk as she goes about her business, keeping her feelings mostly to herself, but in most situations, insulting her or putting her down is a quick way to rile her up. Regardless, she's quick to forgive, and never holds grudges for very long against those she knows don't mean any harm. Appearance Amaterasu's appearance varies depending on who is percieving her. To most people, she looks like a normal black-eyed white wolf. Her tail has a slight black tint to the tip, as if it's been stained with ink. Her face doesn't hold any more intelligence than that of a normal animal - the phrases "dumb-looking" and "blank-faced" get tossed around a lot around her, much to her eternal frustration. And to be fair, she does have tendencies to stare into space or leave her mouth hanging open in a canine pant, and does often look utterly baffled due to the oddities of the people around her. But overall, her inappropriately mundane appearance is yet another side effect of the dwindling faith in her own world; she has grown so weak that she cannot even show herself to others. Nevertheless, animals, ponicles, other gods, and those of great faith see Amaterasu for what she really is. Amaterasu's true form is covered in crimson markings. She has one running down her forehead all the way down to the tip of her muzzle, with a circular break reminiscent of the sun in the middle. She has one above and below each eye, as well as one gently swirling on each shoulderblade. The final marks are swished, slightly curving lines on each side of her torso. She has two purely aesthetic wing-like protrusions on her shoulders, decorated with delicate spirals and stained by ink. She has similar, smaller wings right above each ankle, where a normal wolf would have dewclaws. Her tail is decorated by swirls and spirals, mostly centered in a knot-like bunch in the middle. The end of her tail is coated with black ink, and overall, it almost resembles a thin paintbrush. When impassioned or riled up, she sometimes glows with soft sunlight. Solar Flare floats about a half-inch above her back; it is a red reflector that constantly burns with red and green flames, which only hurt others when Amaterasu wants them to. She sparkles when her Godhood is maxed out. Those who can see Amaterasu's true form also see the effects her presence has on the environment. Grass and flowers bloom at her feet, especially when she runs. When she leaps, flower petals and leaves swirl around her, and when she lands, the grass suddenly flares up around her. When she attacks, cherry blossoms, petals, and sparkles seem to fly out of her target, and when she's slain something, its body disappears, replaced by beautiful flowers. As a bit of trivia, a spirit with the power to see people for what they truly are described Amaterasu as a beautiful maiden. Relationships Dante - Samus Aran - History Amaterasu's first incarnation was born on the Celestial Plane, the land of the gods. It was a peaceful existence, if a rather same-y and uneventful one. One day, the Ark of Yamato arrived, bringing with it Waka, a member of the moon tribe. He explained that demons had wiped out his entire civilization, and he was the sole survivor. The gods and Celestials allowed Waka to stay with them, and Waka quickly became Amaterasu's best friend. Unbeknownst to Waka or anyone else, demons had stowed away with him on the ark. Among these was the vastly powerful eight-headed serpent Orochi. Orochi emerged from the ark and laid waste to the Celestial Plane, killing many of its inhabitants and almost completely destroying it. Amaterasu and Waka attempted to fight it, but could not so much as scratch the demon. Waka used his clairvoyant powers, and told Amaterasu that Orochi could only be slain by the human Chosen one. And so, when Waka and the Celestials fled the Celestial Plane on the ark, Amaterasu fell to the mortal realm, dragging Orochi down with her. Meanwhile, the demons within the ark emerged and killed all the Celestials within, crashing it in Kamui and invading the mortal world. Only Waka survived. Amaterasu and Orochi landed near Kamiki Village in Nippon. She took a male wolf as her vessel, and this was the birth of her second incarnation, Shinranui. Orochi declared himself the Lord of Darkness and summoned demons to help him rule over and terrorize the land. Powerless to stop him, Shiranui remained within Kamiki village, waiting for the chosen one to be born and protecting those within as best as he could. The locals, however, believed Shiranui to be a servant of Orochi, sent to scout out beautiful maidens for his yearly sacrifice. He protected the village, prevented evil from entering, and patrolled the streets for demons...and meanwhile, the villages hated and feared him, and those who didn't flee from him abused and attacked him. His only companionship was the ponicle Ishaku, who could speak to Shiranui and knew he was Amaterasu. After ninety-nine years of waiting, the chosen one, Nagi, was finally born. On the night of the yearly festival, when Orochi picked Nagi's beloved as his one-hundredth maiden sacrifice, Nagi went to slay him, and Shiranui followed. The two killed Orochi, sealing his spirit in the moon cave with Nagi's sword, Tsukuyomi. However, the fierce battle weakened Shiranui so much that he died. Realizing they were wrong in mistreating him, the village honored Shiranui, building a shrine and statue of him over his burial grounds, and he became a legend. When Shiranui died, his thirteen brush technique split into thirteen newborn gods, each with authority over one of his former powers. Among these was Amaterasu's third, and current, incarnation - Sun Goddess Amaterasu. Twelve of the newborn gods dispersed across Nippon, taking up residence in constellations. Amaterasu, however, remained dormant within Shiranui's statue. A hundred years later, Nagi's descendant Susano removed Tsukuyomi, accidentally reviving Orochi. He spread darkness and curses across Nippon, turning almost the entire population into stone and corrupting the land so much that the native gods no longer had power. Out of desperation, the wood sprite Sakuya used the last ounce of her strength to try and revive Shiranui, thus awakening Amaterasu. However, she was vastly weakened - not only did the lack of faith and spread of darkness in modern Nippon drain her potency, but her only power was control of the sun. To defeat Orochi, she would need to travel across Nippon and find the other twelve gods, so they could return her powers. Almost immediately after awakening, she encountered Issun, a descendant of Ishaku. He had run away from home to escape his ponicle duties, feeling trapped by his predetermined fate to be a messenger of the gods. Instead, upon seeing Amaterasu use the Celestial Brush, he decided, despite Amaterasu's mild protests, to accompany her, so he could watch the Brush at work and try to emulate her technique. With Issun at her side, Amaterasu destroyed the evil within and around Kamiki Village and nearby Kusa Village, slowly recovering her power by acquiring brush techniques and praise as she went along. She encountered Waka a few times during her work, who offered her cryptic advice and vague prophesies to help guide her in the right direction. When the night of Kamiki Village's annual festival arrived, Orochi demanded a maiden sacrifice, just as he had done a century ago. He chose Susano's beloved, Kushi. Although Susano was too cowardly at first to stand up to Orochi, Kushi vowed to fight back, and Amaterasu accompanied her to the Moon Cave where Orochi dwelled. When Amaterasu confronted the demon, she could not scratch him...but Susano came through and gave the first strike, and his chosen blood broke the barrier. Amaterasu weakened Orochi to the point of near-death, but backed off at the last minute so that Susano could deliver the final blow. The evil in Orochi rose and spread in all directions, birthing more demons and empowering the ones that already existed. Amaterasu and Issun next traveled to Sei-An City, where they had heard a terrible plague was spreading. With the Emperor - and most of the population - incapacitated by sickness and the Queen holed up in her palace to pray and try to locate the demon stronghold, their only ally was the priestess Rao, who beseeched them to find the the Fox Rods, claiming it was the ultimate weapon against evil. Amaterasu destroyed the plague, killed the Water Dragon plaguing the seas, and located the Fox Rods. After returning the Rods to Rao, Amaterasu went to the palace and discovered Rao crying over the queen's dead body. Amaterasu removed Rao's disguise, revealing her to be Demon Lord Ninetails. Ninetails fled to Oni Island, and Amaterasu followed, finding and killing her. The third leg of her journey took her to Kamui, the last place Orochi's evil spread. The twin owl demons Lechku and Nechku had awoken thanks to Orochi's essence and were now terrorizing the area. The only person who could dispell them was Lika, an Onia child with great spiritual powers who was lost in the forest. She had been led through the Spirit Gate by the demons, sending her a hundred years back in time to be Orochi's sacrifice on the night he was slain. Amaterasu followed to save her, and helped Nagi and Shiranui slay Orochi. Amaterasu and Shiranui then went back forward in time and killed Lechku and Nechku. However, Shiranui was fatally wounded in the fight. Amaterasu helped Shiranui return through the gate with the last of his strength, so that he could die at his proper time, thus creating a stable time loop. Immediately after bidding her past self farewell, Amaterasu was pulled into Pandora. Pandora History